PURCHASE, N.Y. - The Purchase College men's basketball team escaped with a hard-fought victory Saturday afternoon, besting Maritime College by the score of 77-75.

With the result, the Panthers moved to 6-12 overall and 4-5 in the Skyline Conference. For the Privateers, they now sit at 9-8 and 5-4, respectively.

Over the course of the performance, the squads were tied nine times while the lead changed on 10 occasions. Despite that, the Blue and Orange still lead for 85 percent of the game, as they raced out to a big lead early.

In the first half, the margin grew to as many as 15 points, before they settled for a 36-33 lead at halftime.

Following the break, the contest remained within five points the entire half, as the Skyline foes battled.

The turning point finally came during the final 10 seconds of the contest after Nate Maldonado (SR/Bronx, NY) nailed a pair of clutch free throws to put the Panthers up for good, 76-75.

Still, the visitors had a chance to steal the win late, but a driving layup with three seconds left missed the mark and Purchase got the rebound.

Overall, the hosts shot 42.4 percent from the field, while Maritime finished at 40.9 percent. 

While the guests kept things close by winning the rebounding battle, 48-37, the Blue and Orange committed one fewer turnover and nailed eight more 3-pointers in the win.

Individually, Desmond Ward (SR/Queens, NY) finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds over 40 minutes of action.

Maldonado chipped in 13 points and four rebounds, while Sean Holzman (JR/Putnam Valley, NY) added 13 points and two assists.

Up next for the Panthers is a road matchup at St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn on January 28th at 6 p.m.